House passes amendment The measure to outlaw flag burning now moves to Senate

Activists say the Senate could be within a vote or two of passage. WASHINGTON (AP) -- A constitutional amendment to outlaw flag burning cleared the House Wednesday but faced an uphill battle in the Senate. An informal survey by The Associated Press suggested the measure doesn't have enough Senate votes to pass. The 286-130 outcome was never in doubt in the House, which had passed the measure or one like it five times in recent years. The amendment's supporters expressed optimism that a Republican gain of four seats in last November's election could produce the two-thirds approval needed in the Senate as well after four failed attempts since 1989. But an AP survey Wednesday found 35 senators on record as opposing the amendment -- one more than the number needed to defeat it if all 100 senators vote, barring a change in position. Late Wednesday, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., revealed that she would vote against the measure. "I don't believe a constitutional amendment is the answer," Clinton, a possible presidential candidate in 2008, said in a statement. Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., remained undecided, a spokesman said. Points of contention The House debate fell along familiar lines over whether the amendment strengthened the Constitution or ran afoul of its free-speech protections. Supporters said there was more public support than ever because of emotions following the 2001 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington. They said detractors are out of touch with public sentiment. "Ask the men and women who stood on top of the Trade Center," said Rep. Randy Cunningham, R-Calif. "Ask them and they will tell you: pass this amendment." Critics accused the amendment's supporters of exploiting the attacks to trample the right to free speech. "If the flag needs protection at all, it needs protection from members of Congress who value the symbol more than the freedoms that the flag represents," said Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., whose district includes the site of the former World Trade Center. Where senators stand The last time the Senate voted on the amendment, the tally was 63 in favor and 37 against, four votes short of the two-thirds majority needed. Now, with more than two dozen new members, a four-seat Republican gain in the last election and a public still stung by the terrorist attacks in 2001, activists on both sides say the Senate could be within a vote or two of passage. But the amendment's prospects faded late Wednesday when Democratic Sens. Maria Cantwell of Washington and Mark Pryor of Arkansas revealed that they would oppose it. Possible presidential contenders who have supported the amendment in the past include Evan Bayh, D-Ind., Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., and John McCain, R-Ariz. Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., a likely presidential candidate, has said he would oppose the amendment. The proposed one-line amendment to the Constitution reads, "The Congress shall have power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States." For the language to be added to the Constitution, it must be approved by two-thirds of those present in each chamber, then ratified within seven years by at least 38 state legislatures. The amendment is designed to overturn a 5-4 Supreme Court ruling in 1989 that flag burning is a protected free-speech right. Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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